Turn Left, Turn Right
by repressedgenius
Summary: Meet at a cafe AU


**_Monday_**

She slams the car door and trudges up the sidewalk in her high heels and tight pencil skirt. "No, Steve. This is blackmail."

"It's not. That's slander." The comment results in massive eye roll from her. If only her ass of a brother could see it. "Mmm mmm. Still nope."

"I really need to take this break, Gail."

Gail scoffs while pulling the door to her favourite coffee joint. "Well, don't we all."

"Fuck. I'm—I bought a ring."

"You bought a ring? Good for you. How is that—"

"An engagement ring, Gail. Come on. You're a lawyer; connect the dots."

"I haven't had coffee." She pinches the bridge of her nose and joins the queue. Sighing deeply and judging her pathetic resolve, she acquiescence, "… fine!"

"Thank you, Gaily Waily." She scans the morning crowd. They were mostly corporate folks that look like they needed more sleep but are settling on caffeine to function as actual human beings instead of the zombies.

"You fucking owe me a big one."

"Yup, yup." Her gaze settles on a tall woman in a figure-hugging beige suit with a dark grey blouse. The woman's matching dark purple heels and leather handbag made her stand out amongst the other women in monochromatic attire.

"I gotta go. Catch up on the mess of a case you picked up later." Gail ends the call abruptly. She was next in line to order. For some reason (she knew why), this woman captivates her.

"Chai Tea Latte?" The taller woman thanks the barista warmly.

Gail watches her leave until a waving hand catches her attention in the corner of her eye. She could feel an onset of blush creeping up her chest when the barista smiles knowingly at her. Gail quickly recites her usual order to the young man while silently chastising herself for the leering.

She pays and proceeds to wait for her fix, determined as ever to keep her focus on her phone as she sifts through her e-mails. The image of the mysterious woman still etched in her mind.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Tuesday<em>**

Gail made an effort to be at the café about the same time as yesterday, not so secretly hoping to see the captivating woman—also known as 'Hot Tea'—once more. She immediately searched the place after stepping inside. There was a drop in her heart when she concluded that the intriguing woman she was looking for was not around. The level of her disappointment surprised her.

_Oh, well. It was a long shot, anyway._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Wednesday<em>**

The very next morning, Gail arrives at the café without her previous effort of making it there the same time as when she first noticed Hot Tea. In fact, she was so engrossed in her phone—bloody HR e-mails this time—that she almost knocked into the swinging door.

Gail notices the familiar heels and looks up at the woman holding the door open for her to pass through. _Hot Tea! _

Still stunned and a little in awe of the very well-dressed gorgeous woman in front of her, Gail utters a soft thanks to her and the smile she got in return sent Gail into a tailspin. _What a beautiful, genuine, and warm smile she had!_

"No problem." Gail passes the threshold into the café. Her brain barely registers the heavenly smell of coffee. She merely looks on at the distancing figure, helplessly noticing the sway of her hips in that pants.

Of course, Gail would later blame her (embarrassing) reaction on the lack of caffeine, instead of admitting the hold Hot Tea had on her.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thursday<em>**

_Today_. Gail was prepared. She set her alarm 15 minutes earlier than usual, anticipating hitting the snooze once. So really, she was a good ten minutes earlier when she reached the café.

_Today. _Gail was going to be there earlier than Hot Tea (or even better, arrive at the same time as her). Perhaps she even prepared some small talk material to get things going. Maybe.

_Today. _Gail had put on her best outfit she had—the one she usually saved for big trials. She was feeling pretty great about herself. Her outfit has never let her down before and it certainly won't let her down today.

Today, Hot Tea was nowhere to be found in that quaint café. Worse, the joint was packed with obnoxious financial crowd that she abhorred being with prior to some caffeine.

As she waited impatiently for her usual order, Gail felt her mood progressively getting worse. It also went from bad to horrible when the asshole next to her hit her elbow, swishing some of the coffee in her cup. Thankfully, it had a lid and only spilled a small amount of her juju out. _Luckily for him._

The sharp sound of her heels hitting the floor at the lobby of her office building sent highlighted her mood. She was not one to mess with right now. It was a good thing none of her colleagues were around, just—_her._

Gail joins the woman waiting for the lift to arrive. It dinged it's arrival not a moment after. Hot Tea enters first and immediately presses the button to leave the door open for Gail. _That must be her thing. _

The smile she has on was radiant and Gail bit her lower lip before instinctively smiling back at her.

"Which floor?" Hot Tea looks at her expectantly.

"Oh, 11. Thanks."

"No problem"

Gail looks down at the beverage in hand awkwardly. She brings the cup up to sip tentatively but after briefly catching the eye of the taller woman, Gail ends up scalding her tongue from sipping too quickly.

**_Ding_**_. Tenth floor. _

Hot Tea smiles at her again and shuffles out, graceful as ever. She groans loudly and hit her forehead with her palm when the door closes. _What an idiot._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Friday<em>**

_You hope for the best but are prepared for the worst. _

That was Gail's mantra for the day. She was hoping to see Hot Tea at least before she went in for work, but also prepared to put the knowledge that Hot Tea is one floor down to good use. (She could totally head there to snoop around and maybe bump into Hot Tea under the pretense that toilet on her floor is undergoing maintenance.)

Gail stops right in front of the café entrance and traps the thin folder containing Steve's case under her arm to untangle the strap of her handbag. She was doing one of the many things that annoyed her—blocking the traffic at any entrance. The usual Gail Peck would have probably shoved this Gail Peck aside.

Sensing a presence approaching her from behind, Gail shifts aside with a half-hearted apology. It was a good thing Hot Tea appears to share an endless list of qualities with that of an angel. After finally getting the strap to sit right, the lawyer looks up to see Hot Tea smiling that smile again_._ She pulls the door and gestures for Gail to enter first._ Ugh. So freaking charming._

"Thanks."

"Not a problem." She felt the heat on her cheeks intensify.

_Pull yourself together, Peck. This schoolgirl thing you've got going is pathetic._

"You know, I _am_ capable of opening doors myself." _Damn it. I said stop behaving like a blushing idiot, __**not **__be your usual asshole self._

Hot Tea chuckles. _At least, she knows how to appreciate it. _"Mmmm. But I like to show people chivalry isn't dead, one door at a time."

"Good to know." And with that, Gail flashes her usual cheeky grin at Hot Tea.

They order their drinks promptly as the queue at the back grew longer. All of a sudden, Gail felt her earlier bravado slip away and she shrinks back into this shy shell of a person she never knew she had in her. The barista passes them their drinks and Hot Tea shakes some cinnamon in hers.

"Cinnamon?" Gail shakes her head with a soft smile.

_Say something. _

They walk out of the café towards the office building together in silence.

_Come on, Peck. Snap out of it. At least get her name!_

Gail licks her lips and shifts her weight around while they wait for the lift, one hand gripping tightly onto the folder and coffee in another. The door opens and just like all the times before, Hot Tea heads in to hold the door open for her. Gail giggles. _Actually giggles._

"Don't. You have your hands full." She presses the button for their levels.

"I could get used to this chivalry thing."

"I'm honoured then." _Ding!_

"Well, it was nice riding with you. Hope you have a great day."

The radiant smile steals her breath away for a second before finally muttering, "Yeah, you too."

She bites her lip and watches that hips sway away. She was tempted to press the door button so that she could stare a bit longer. _Creep. _

* * *

><p><strong><em>Saturday<em>**

"Stupid Steve." She tucked in her blouse under her skirt and shruged in her blazer.

"Stupid case." Finally, she put on her sensible heels and straightened up to check herself in the mirror.

She grumbled to herself while getting ready for an early meeting with the management representative of the radio station. "Stupid dickwads and their stupid pranks."

For some reason the jerk could only meet her that weekend. Since she did actually have plans for the rest of the day, Gail scheduled it as early as possible. _Too early._

While waiting for the light to turn green again, Gail switched the station to the one she was representing. She was inwardly cringing in anticipation of the horrible song that was playing.

_I wait for you._  
>I'm mesmerized this love is like a potion in disguise.<br>I'd tightrope walk with a blindfold on my eyes.  
>I can't escape, or so it seems.<p>

She pulled a face at the surprisingly good choice of music. It's not exactly her cup of tea but it was a much better selection than what she had in mind.

At the end of the ride, her mood has mellowed down a lot thanks to the soothing tunes. _Well, at least it's not shit on the weekends._

The meeting was a short one. She tried to move it along as quickly as possible. The DJs involved were dumb jocks that thought it was a great idea to call a woman saying that they had her son. The husband was another piece of work—using the son as bait like that. She smelled a set-up from the get go. Needless to say, the woman's subsequent heart attack was real.

Gail was trying to make it a tough lesson to the two assholes behind the microphone. So, she sold them the idea of a settlement in order to keep things as hush as possible at this point. Luckily the management representative present agreed.

"You should _really _reconsider the segment. Oh. Don't get me wrong, as your lawyer, it would be in my firm's best interest that you continue it. But as a _friend_, I'll have to say this is one of the biggest shit show out there." She quipped with raised eyebrows to the lady in charge who looked like she agreed with every word.

When she got back to her car, there was a note stuck on her windshield. Naturally thinking it was some flyer, Gail picked it up and was ready to crumple it when she saw handwriting on it instead of printed words and pictures. Curious, she squinted at the cursive words.

**I'm so, so sorry for the small dent on the area right above the left back tyre of your car. It was a genuine mistake on my part and I'm really sorry. Please contact me so that I can cover the cost for fixing it. **

**Infinitely apologetic,**

**Holly (416-587- 2281)**

She inspects the spot and indeed there was a minor dent there with a tiny trace of black paint. Gail pursed her lips. _Huh._

Oddly enough, it didn't bug her much. Then again, the dent was pretty miniscule. Blink and you'd miss it. If anything, Gail was more fascinated by this note or rather this person behind the note. She pocketed the note in her blazer and entered the car.

That evening, Gail was meeting Steve for some drinks at The White Pound and upscale bar that people from the firm frequented. He was late, as usual.

She ordered another drink. "Dirty Martini on the rocks."

"Make that two."

"Speak of the devil."

They sipped the drinks in silence and then Gail suddenly turned to him.

"So?"

"You gotta be more specific there."

"How did _it _go?" A huge shit-eating grin spread across his face and Gail clinked their glasses together.

"Congrats. You should've put a ring on it ages ago though."

Steve told her about the way he popped the question. She shot him snarky but thoughtful questions regarding the upcoming wedding. They were both well on their way to being blitzed when Gail reached into her blazer pocket. She was in jeans and a blouse—which is why she kept the blazer from this morning on.

She takes out the folded note in confusion. It took her a while to remember what it was.

"What's that?"

"A number."

"Oooh. Okay, your turn. Tell me about this number."

"No. It's some weirdo who put a small dent on my car at the radio station today."

"And she left her number?"

"Yeah. Like I said, weirdo."

"Or the reincarnation of an angel. Is she hot?"

"How would I know? She left her contact info, not her OKCupid profile."

"You could always check her on IM."

Gail just stared at him like he was uttering gibberish (which was that to her).

"Gimme that." He snatched the note and saved the number into his phone before proceeding to tap one of the app icons.

Steve whistled softly at the screen, so she reached over to tilt the screen towards her instead. It was _her! _

_Hot Tea is Holly?_

"Hottie is right. Do you know her?" She ignored his remark and took the note and pocketed it again, making sure not to crumple it.

Later on that night, she saved the number and stared at Hot Tea Holly's picture until her eyes felt too heavy. Gail fell asleep clutching to the picture of an angel.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Sunday<em>**

That morning, Gail sat in her kitchen counter eating her usual hangover breakfast: bacon and eggs. She went through all of the pros and cons of contacting Holly while chewing slowly.

_Pro : She'll probably feeling more of an idiot that you did this week._

_Con: How to not up your idiot score by calling her during your hangover?_

_Pro: She's the one that needs to make up to you._

_Con: By paying for the damages—which is negligible. Nobody said anything about a date._

_Pro: You can._

After thoroughly arguing with herself in her head because her tongue still felt like sandpaper, Gail decided to just bite the bullet.

But when her thumb was hovering the call button on Holly's contact detail on her phone, Gail felt her earlier bravado fade exponentially. A slip of her greasy palm resting on the counter, she accidentally hit the call button as a result. Gail panicked and quickly ended the call. She hoped to the high heavens that the call did not connect and Holly didn't receive it.

She was wrong.

Her phone rings and the sound irked her throbbing head. Gail answered the call nonetheless. _It was only polite!_

"Hi, I got a missed call earlier?" The uncertain voice rang through her ear.

Gail cleared her dry throat before answering, "Uh yeah. This is Gail. The silver Audi from yesterday?"

"Oh, God. Yes. I'm so glad you called. Listen, I'm so, so sorry for that. I was in a hurry and I just got this new car and swung my door open too—"

"A double double." Gail interrupted Holly's rambling (which was making her head ring).

"I'm sorry?"

"You can get me coffee at the café tomorrow, Holly of the tenth floor."


End file.
